More bad news

November 2024 Forums General discussion More bad news

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  • #160002
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    If you think i couldn’t get even more gloomy

    http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181101-the-mystery-viruses-far-worse-than-flu

    WHO is so firmly convinced that they have updated their list of pathogens most likely to cause a massive, deadly outbreak to include “Disease X” – a mystery microorganism which hasn’t yet entered our radar.

    “I think the chances that the next pandemic will be caused by a novel virus are quite good,” says Kevin Olival, a disease ecologist from the EcoHealth Alliance, a US-based organisation that studies the links between human and environmental health

    Bill Gates warned that the next pandemic could be something we’ve never seen before.

    #160003
    ALB
    Keymaster
    #160011
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    “Bill Gates warned that the next pandemic could be something we’ve never seen before.”

    And he should know all about viruses, at least those of the malicious software kind.

    #160095
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    The blog covered this Lancet report here

    https://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2018/11/what-is-real-population-crisis.html

    It has also highlighted previously the problem of declining populations.

    But thanks for the link for another blog against the over-populationists

    #160162
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Of course a shrinking population is only a problem under capitalism. First, because it means that more of the surplus value produced has to be devoted  to maintaining a growing non-working section of the population and so diverted from being re-invested for profit and capital accumulation. Second, because a labour shortage puts workers in a stronger bargaining position over their wages so putting profits under pressure there too.

    In describing a shrinking population as a “threat to Earth” rather than as a threat to capitalism, even though this is meant as a riposte to Sir David Attenborough’s overpopulation-mongering, Mortished is one of those who find it “easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism.”

    #160163
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    It should also be used as a refutation of anti-immigration arguments that we are already “full up”.

    Capitalism requires increased numbers of young fit newcomers for the demographic reason that you say which i think is called the age dependency ratio.

    It is also the reason why they are making us all work longer by raising the retirement age(the bastards added almost a year to when i’m due my pension and i’m lucky, women as we know from the recent WASPI protests it was multiple years they have to now wait)

    We may have an increased longevity but what about good health?

    In 2015, the number of healthy life years at birth was estimated at 63.3 years for women and 63.7 years for men in the UK , hence we are a burden on the NHS that the capitalists have to pay more tax for from that surplus value extracted from their exploitation.

    #167333
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Going against the trend is this report

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/02/world-verge-climate-catastophe

    “Unfortunately many experts believe Earth’s population will actually peak well beyond 11 billion. “It could reach 15 billion,” said Sarah Harper, of Oxford’s Institute of Population Ageing. “All sorts of factors suggest women, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, will still want to have relatively high numbers of children and this might keep the world’s population approaching 15 billion rather than 12 billion.”

    The world will have double its present numbers – but with hugely reduced areas of fertile land to provide food. We will be living in a shrunken, scorched planet bursting with human beings.”

    But this video is more insightful

    A panel discussion on Is the Planet Full

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